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Interviewed by Refinery29 (4/20/14)

I was recently interviewed by reporter Justin Sedor for Refinery29… According to their “About” page, Refinery29 is the largest independent fashion and style website in the United States – a lifestyle platform that delivers nonstop inspiration to live a more stylish and creative life.

Inspiration, creativity, what an honor!! (because I know the interview wasn’t about me being stylish haha)

Justin and I talked a lot about what it’s like to research the adult entertainment industry, as well as many key topics currently impacting porn and wider society, in “Porn: Why We Make It, Why We Watch It.”

Here’s a snippet of what I had to say:

Why do you think it’s important to study porn?

“From a sociological perspective, porn is a part of society. The adult entertainment industry is a huge subculture and a significant part of our global, national, and state communities… For whatever reason, the nature of that relationship is something we really don’t like to engage, and I think calling attention to that (that it really is this give-and-take and this synergistic relationship) is extremely important. Porn is not feeding us images that we are passively internalizing…porn gives us images that we want, and in turn, we expect to see those images.”

California is talking about passing a law requiring performers to use condoms on camera. Do you think that would affect the way that we view condoms and safe sex?

“…What’s happening behind the scenes is maybe that condom has to be changed out five times because they’ve been shooting for two hours… That reverse cowgirl up on the stairs where the penis is really exposed to the air…can cause a condom to break. If people are absorbing this as sex education, what you will see is more people using condoms in a ‘porn-y’ way, which is not the way condoms work – condoms are only 80-some-odd percent effective when they’re used properly, which is 15 to 20 minutes at a time, with lube, with minimal air exposure. That’s not what you see in porn.”

…and on and on!

I had a great time talking with Refinery29. You can read the entire interview –> here.